Disater Prone
by Sway2
Summary: Chloe has to stay at Lex's while Daddy is out of town
1. Default Chapter

Disaster Prone  
  
Author: Sway  
  
Rating: PG-13 (I think!)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the whole Smallville cast. really! *sigh* ok so I should have stopped at 'nothing'.  
  
A/N: This is set after Kinetic, cos that was the last episode I saw.  
  
Chloe's arm had healed fast after she had been thrown out of Luthor's window, and she admired her ability to flex her fingers again. She was sitting in the Torch office after hours, Clark had just left and she was about to finish up for the night. She had just picked up her luke-warm coffee when the phone rung. She jumped and spilt the beverage all over her top.  
  
Chloe picked up the phone 'Dammit Pete, I told you I'm okay on my own.', "Pete, I swear I'm fine!"  
  
"That's good to hear." Her fathers voice responded.  
  
"Dad! Hi. I was just packing to come home." She started packing things into her bag, she knew he hated it when she spent all night working at the school. He was in New York on business and wasn't due home til the next day so she thought she was safe.  
  
"That's fine, I was just calling to tell you the weather here is horrible and the plane won't be able to take off. They don't think that its gonna clear up for another few days." He said apologetically.  
  
"That's okay. I'm fine on my own." Chloe said wiping the spilt coffee off her top.  
  
"Are you sure? Lex offered to take care of you until I get back. He feels awful that he made me leave so soon after your accident and now that I can't get home."  
  
"NO! No. Noooo. I'm fine. No Luthor's." Chloe said.  
  
"I thought you forgave him?"  
  
"There was nothing to forgive. It wasn't his fault I got pushed out the window. It's just I don't think I could handle HIM babysitting me." Chloe admitted.  
  
"Oh, well if that's all you're worried about." Gabe sighed. "Please?"  
  
"I'm fine dad. Really."  
  
"Well.I'll see you when I get back honey."  
  
"Bye Dad." Chloe said and hung up the phone. Crisis averted. "Thank God." She mumbled to herself and packed up the rest of her things.  
  
Twenty minutes later Chloe was sitting in her lounge room in her pink teddy bear pyjama's writing an article about how the chairs in classrooms should be replaced as they are a health hazard. She cursed Kwan for limiting what she could put in the paper. Who cares about chairs when there are meteor infected people walking around in our town? She sighed and closed her notebook as the doorbell rung.  
  
"I swear if that is one more person checking up on me I'll." She opened the door. "Mr Luthor. What brings you here?" She looked down at her clothing. And then his. What a contrast. Pink bed clothes or a sharp Armani suit. Who's more intimidating? And the prize goes to.the man currently looming over her.  
  
"Your father." He stepped inside, smirking as she backed up. "Nice slippers."  
  
Chloe looked down at her footwear - white bunnies that reached her ankles. 'Perfect. Could this get more humiliating?' "Dad bought them for me. And speaking of dad, I spoke to him less than half an hour ago, he said that I could stay here. I'm fine on my own."  
  
"I spoke to him less than 10 minutes ago," he held up his mobile. "He told me that I was to take you back to my place until he got back." At Chloe's infuriated look he added. "He sends his apologies, he said that if he had called you, you would have talked him out of it. I'll wait here while you pack."  
  
"And I suppose there is no chance of you telling him I'm with you and I could just stay here?" Chloe begged.  
  
"Nope, sorry. You're my responsibility for the next week." Lex shook his head.  
  
"WEEK? He said a few days!" Chloe hung her head defeated.  
  
"They just got the weather report, stop stalling and go pack." Lex ordered. It was nearly one in the morning. Even Luthor's needed sleep.  
  
"Fine." Chloe stomped up the stairs and emerged a few minutes later with several bags.  
  
"It's only a week." Lex said amazed at the amount of bags the girl was carrying down the stairs.  
  
"I'm a girl. Leave me alone." Chloe said handing him two of the five bags.  
  
When they arrived at the castle, Chloe stared at the window she was thrown out of. Lex saw her and cut the engine of the car. "Are you okay?"  
  
Chloe broke her gaze and nodded. "I'm fine." She responded and got out of the car and headed to the boot where her bags were.  
  
Lex waved her away. "I have servants for that sort of thing."  
  
"You're gonna wake them up at this hour to carry five bags up to a room? I think not. Open the boot."  
  
Lex shook his head. "It's called the night shift. I have people waiting up for this sort of thing and I told them to expect it. You'll disappoint them if you take it." He threw the keys to a man that emerged from the front door as they spoke.  
  
"Oh." Chloe frowned. "Okay."  
  
"Come on, I'll show you to your room." Lex said taking her up the stairs to a large room that was bigger than her lounge room and kitchen together. And they were big. There were fresh towels and a hotel style gown waiting on the bed.  
  
"It's beautiful." She gasped. "I mean." she regained her composure. "It's not as homey as my room but it'll do."  
  
Lex chuckled. "I suppose it will have to. Good night Ms Sullivan."  
  
"Good night, Mr Luthor." 


	2. Chapter 2

Disaster Prone  
  
Needless to say Chloe didn't sleep at all, her inquisitive nature got the best of her and she spent most of the night exploring the manor. She had just made it to the kitchen when she heard a voice behind her.  
  
"Didn't you know its rude to investigate other peoples houses?" Lex asked.  
  
"I thought that only applied to medicine cabinets and underwear drawers." Chloe answered.  
  
Lex shook his head. "When you're in a Luthor's house it applies to everything. Don't you have school tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah but you know what they say-"  
  
"Curiosity killed the cat?" Lex interrupted.  
  
"Satisfaction brought it back." Chloe shot back.  
  
"I'll take you back to your room. What time do you want to leave for school?" Lex asked guiding her back up the stairs.  
  
"About 7:30. I want to go over some of the articles for the paper. Clark is horrible when it comes to grammar."  
  
Chloe was once again seated behind her notebook in the Torch office when Pete waltzed in with Clark and Lana on his heels. Chloe held out her hand for the articles and all three placed a disk in her hand. "Clark, I was just going over your last article and - seriously! Have you even heard of grammar check?"  
  
"My, aren't we crabby today." Clark smiled as he took a seat beside the printer.  
  
"Chloe you don't look well.did you get enough sleep last night?" Lana asked.  
  
"No. I was up most of the night. My dad is stuck in New York and he won't be back for a week." Chloe sighed.  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry Chloe!" Lana smiled sympathetically, "Do you wanna come stay with me and Nell?"  
  
"No, I'm ok really." Chloe shook her head.  
  
"Come on Chlo, you can't stay in that house on your own!" Clark said.  
  
"Actually, I'm staying with someone, so I'm fine."  
  
"Who?" Lana asked.  
  
Chloe shot a quick look at Pete. "Um.Dad asked me to stay with Lex."  
  
"Lex? As in Lex Luthor." Pete laughed. "You have got to be kidding me!"  
  
"No, actually I'm not. I'm staying with him until Dad gets back."  
  
"Well, you can tell him that you're gonna come stay with me, that way you don't have to hang with him." Pete said seriously.  
  
"It's okay, I probably won't even see him that much, what with school and the paper and him working. Plus I'm sure he can spare the room, I'd just feel like I'm imposing with you guys."  
  
Pete shook his head walking to the door. "Whatever. If you wanna stay with that spoilt little rich brat, who am I to stop you?"  
  
Chloe stood. "Pete."  
  
"Nah, it's okay Chlo. I just thought you were above the 'Luthor Charm'." He said and slammed the office door after him. 


	3. Chapter 3

When Chloe finished school she'd figured that she could stay behind and finish off the layout for the next edition seeing no one would be missing her. But fifteen minutes later her cell phone rang, it was Lex.  
  
"Where are you?" Lex asked when she picked up.  
  
"Hi Lex, I'm fine thanks for asking." Chloe said sarcastically.  
  
"I've been waiting outside for twenty minutes."  
  
"Why would you be doing that?" Chloe asked, walking over to the window of her office to see Lex leaning against his car of the week, staring up at her.  
  
"As previously mentioned, I am your caretaker for the next few days and I want to make sure you get to and from school safely. I know your track record when it comes to the strange things in this town."  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I got attacked by a boy and thrown out a window and suddenly I'm disaster prone."  
  
"I'm just doing what your father asked." Lex defended.  
  
"Whatever. Look I'm not done here, I'll probably be a while, so you can go hang with Clark and Lana at the Talon or something until I'm done."  
  
"Are you alone up there?"  
  
"Yeah, except for the janitors." Chloe waved as one walked by.  
  
"Well then I'll come up and wait."  
  
"No. You'll distract me."  
  
Lex watched as she shook her head up in the window. He almost laughed. It wasn't often he was refused by a girl. "Fine, I'll go and have coffee with Clark and Lana and I'll have my mobile, call me when you're done."  
  
"Bye!" Chloe gave Lex a little wave and hung up. She wasn't used to the protective male thing unless it came in the shape of Clark Kent, sometimes even Pete, but even then it was weird.  
  
Half an hour later she was done she looked at the phone and thought about calling Lex to pick her up. That thought was over as soon as it begun. There was no way she was gonna ask a favour of him. It was bad enough that she was living with him at the moment. She sighed as she locked up the door to her office, she still hadn't had a chance to talk to Pete. It was a stupid fight to begin with. She knew he had a problem with the Luthor's and she knew why. It was completely justified in the Lionel department, but Lex is only his son. Chloe contemplated ways to get Pete to talk to her again on the walk to the Talon.  
  
She entered the café and saw Clark hunched over his coffee talking eagerly to Lex who was relaxed back in his chair. Lana was walking around trying to look busy but due to the lack of customers there was obviously nothing to do. The doe-eyed waitress saw Chloe and gave a big smile. "Hi Chloe!"  
  
Lex's head snapped up. He looked pointedly at her and then his phone that was resting on the table beside his hand. "I was waiting for your call." He stated.  
  
Chloe thought fast. "I.didn't have your number." She replied. It wasn't really a lie, it wasn't in her address book on her phone.  
  
Lex held his hand out for her phone and pressed a few keys. "It's in the 'recent call' list." He pointed out with a smirk, knowing she was bluffing. "But I put it in the address book just in case. I don't want you walking around on your own." Lex handed back her phone.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Chloe muttered.  
  
Lana came over and took Chloe's order, "So Chloe tells me she's staying with you Lex. It's very kind of you to take care of her while her father is gone."  
  
"Gabe is a good man and he takes excellent care of my plant, this is one of the only things he has ever requested of me, so I'm happy to help out - even if Chloe isn't happy about the situation." He said directing the last part at the girl in question.  
  
"Hey I'm happy, witness the smile. I'm just not thrilled that I, a 17 year old, needs a 21 year old babysitter. I'm old enough to take care of myself." Chloe pointed out as Lana left to get her coffee.  
  
"Pete isn't too happy about it either." Clark added sorrowfully. "He still isn't a fan of yours."  
  
"Well, Mr Ross will have to get over it. I'm not doing this to irritate him, I'm doing this for Gabe and Chloe." Lex shrugged.  
  
"Nice to know I'm important." Chloe rolled her eyes.  
  
After Chloe had her caffeine fix, Lex stood. "Well, we have to go, I have an appointment in half an hour I need to prepare for."  
  
Chloe stood too. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow at school. Try to talk to Pete for me?"  
  
Clark nodded, "Sure. He doesn't hate you Chlo."  
  
"I know. I'm just not used to fighting with him." 


	4. Chapter 4

Several days had passed and not much had changed. Pete was talking to Chloe, Chloe was still exploring Lex's house at night and Lex was still catching her at insane hours of the morning.  
  
But a few nights later, Chloe was being escorted back to her room by Lex after doing some exploring in one of the halls on the other side of the house, when there was a crashing sound echoing through the hall. Lex whipped his head around in the direction of the sound.  
  
"Servants?" Chloe whispered.  
  
"Gave them the night off." Lex whispered back heading down the hall. "Stay behind me."  
  
"Oh, no way!!" Chloe shook her head. "I've seen this movie. The big strong hero figure goes first and then the helpless blonde gets kidnapped and the hero doesn't notice until a few minutes later when he realises that he's been talking to himself cos the girl isn't there." Chloe ranted, straightened her shoulders. "I'm going first."  
  
Lex stared at her. "Stay behind me." He said pushing her behind him. "And if you're sure you're gonna get kidnapped - hold on to my shirt."  
  
He smiled on the inside has heard Chloe followed him down the hall mumbling something about how big strong superheros are really just big strong dumb- ass's and how she wasn't scared she was just tired. until the second crash came followed by hushed muttering and he felt her grab his shirt tightly.  
  
"How about we just go back to bed, they can take what they want and leave us alone." Chloe said turning around and walking back they way they were headed before.  
  
"No, they are just around that corner, I won't allow anyone to intrude on my property." Lex said grabbing her arm and pulling her behind him.  
  
The noise they created alerted the robbers and suddenly they heard a gun being cocked. "Oh boy." Chloe gasped.  
  
Minutes later Chloe's left wrist was handcuffed to Lex's right and they were both gagged and pushed in the corner of his study as the robbers finished raiding the safe in his bookcase, the one with the gun kept it trained on Chloe's head until they were through. Then one of the three thieves came over to Lex and ran a hand over his bald head.  
  
"Lex," a female voice purred.  
  
Chloe was oblivious to the sound of the voice but Lex wasn't. 'Victoria.' He fumed.  
  
The second came over and grabbed Victoria by the wrist. "Come on!" a non- descript voice hissed. A silver ring shone through the latex glove and both Chloe and Lex made a note of it.  
  
The pair watched as the robbers vacated the building, still handcuffed. "Well this is just great." Chloe stated. "How are we gonna get these cuffs off?"  
  
Lex who was still fuming over the further betrayal of Victoria didn't answer. Instead he strode over to his safe to note the damage.  
  
"Hey, handcuffed to another body here! Some warning of movement wouldn't go astray!" Chloe exclaimed noting the red marks developing around her wrists. "Did you see where they put the keys?"  
  
"Yeah, in Victoria's pocket." Lex replied slamming the door to the safe with his free hand.  
  
"Victoria?" Chloe questioned. "As in Victoria - your girl of the month until she backstabbed you - Hardwick? How do you know?"  
  
"The voice." Lex muttered. "And how did you know about that?"  
  
"I'm a reporter. Guess."  
  
Lex nodded. "So what do we do about these cuffs."  
  
Chloe tried to throw up her hands but only succeeded with one. "Finally, something I'm concerned about. Who can we call?"  
  
"Well," Lex ran a hand over his head. "We can't call a blacksmith, how could I explain a seventeen year old on my wrist? . How about Mr Kent?"  
  
"Can I get a stopwatch first? Cos I wanna time how long it takes for him to grab his shot gun, get over here, shoot you in the head and release me."  
  
"You're right." Lex sighed. "What do we do?"  
  
  
  
An hour later, Lex and Chloe sat on the couch in Lex's theater watching 'The Bone Collector' still joined by the little piece of metal. Lex had made many calls, none of which made sense to Chloe, but she knew they were about the robbery. They had run out of idea's to unlock themselves and they both lied to each other about not liking the idea of sleeping in the same bed, so they decided to have a movie marathon to wait out the night, hoping an idea would come to them.  
  
Chloe turned and looked at Lex. "Don't you have people for this kind of thing?"  
  
"Despite the popular opinion, I'm not into the habit of handcuffing myself to young women." He paused. "At least not without the key nearby."  
  
"Okay. Did not want to know that." Chloe shook her head to rid herself of the mental image.  
  
"Your father is going to be home within 48 hours and when he sees what has happened." Lex realised.  
  
"Oooh." Chloe bit her lip imagining her fathers face. "Hey, weren't you the juvenile delinquent type? Do you know how to pick a lock?"  
  
"Do you have a hair pin? I'm not in the habit of keeping them around."  
  
"Yeah up in my room!" Chloe jumped up, pulling Lex with her. She began to race to her room before Lex jerked her hand back.  
  
"Is being tied to me really that bad?" Lex asked with a smirk.  
  
Chloe had the grace to blush before regaining her composure. 'No, the feeling that I wanna jump you is that bad.' Chloe answered in her head. These feelings had been there for the past half hour but she had shown no sign that they existed. "No, I'm just really tired." Chloe answered.  
  
They continued the journey in silence. The feeling of Lex's hand brushing against hers with every step was killing her. 'Why am I always attracted to the men I can't have.' Chloe thought. 'First Clark, the man has secrets and is in love with my only female non-friend, oh and then there's the fact he's my best friend in the world, then there's Sean who only wanted me for my body heat, now Lex. Billionaire playboy, daddy's boss and the whole town's enemy. Maybe its me. Maybe I only want men I can't have. Well that's just great.'  
  
Meanwhile Lex's thought pattern ran in a different direction, though headed to the same destination. 'She's so hot. I could take her right here. She's seventeen, she's legal. Maybe I will.' But before he could they arrived at Chloe's room and she had the pin in his hand within seconds.  
  
Lex inserted the pin and found the catch, but realised that as soon as he unlocked them both she would go straight to bed and he would be left alone, Lex decided he could have more fun if he was tied to the small blonde that was staring at him expectantly. "It's been a while, maybe we should go back to the theater, I'll work on it there."  
  
Chloe frowned but smiled on the inside, she didn't want to be left alone after her second attack at the Luthor mansion in the span of a month.  
  
Back at the theater, Lex played around with the lock some more until he got sick of it. "I'm gonna stop for a while, my fingers are starting to cramp." When he got no response from Chloe he looked at her and noticed for the first time that her head was placed on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. A cute purring noise floated to his ears and he knew she was asleep. After some difficulty he managed to sweep her up in his arms without waking her or pulling on her wrist, and took her into his room which was closer than hers. After placing her on his usual side of the bed and tucking her in, he kissed her on her forehead. "Goodnight Chloe."  
  
Chloe lay in Lex's bed stunned. She hadn't realised she had fallen asleep in the movie, but she awoke when he turned it off and picked her up. She'd pretended to still be asleep to see what he was doing and was surprised when she'd felt herself placed gently in his bed and the hands trailing down her body as Lex secured the blankets. But what floored her was the kiss. 'Wow.' Her body fought with her mind as she wanted to respond to his goodnight, but the logical part in her realised that he would have realised she was awake if she responded. Instead she lay in the bed quietly focusing on the point where his lips had made contact with her skin. And at the fact that she was on the wrong side of the bed. 


	5. Chapter 5

When the pair woke up the next morning, they were in a completely different position. Lex was lying on his stomach on the right side of the bed and his hand rested just below Chloe's breast, her shirt was rolled up to reveal her stomach, and his fingers were linked with hers. He could only deduct that at some point of the night, he had rolled over her to get to his rightful side of the bed. Chloe realised this too. "Oh my god." She pulled their hands away from her body, but due to the uncomfortable position the handcuffs created, they didn't get far. But Lex noticed she didn't let his hand go.  
  
"So.no luck with the cuffs, huh?" she said feeling the awkwardness of the situation.  
  
"No. Not really." He lied.  
  
"So, how do we do this?" Chloe asked, letting go of his hand and running the free hand through her hair trying to get rid of the bed hair.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"I need to brush my teeth, have a shower and get changed. None of which I want you looking in on. And then there's the fact that I have school."  
  
"It's Saturday, Chloe."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Lex picked up the hair pin again. It was time to end it. Not that he wasn't having fun, but she was starting to panic. "Let's give this another go." 'Take your time, Lex, or she'll get suspicious.' He told himself.  
  
Chloe watched as Lex fiddled for a few minutes, before hearing the sound of a click from within the lock. The cuffs sprung free and they both rubbed their wrists.  
  
"So."  
  
"So."  
  
They both looked at each other. They were both still sitting on the bed next to each other. Lex leaned in, never one to waste an opportunity, and kissed her softly. Chloe was quick to respond, she wrapped her arms around him and he lowered her until she was lying on the bed. Gentle pressure was applied to Chloe's lips until she opened her mouth to Lex's tongue. When he pulled away for a breath he sat up and said, "I wanted to do that since last night."  
  
Chloe smiled and sat up. "Me too." Chloe looked around her. "So, um, breakfast?"  
  
Lex nodded, happy, yet frustrated she didn't want to dwell on what just happened. "I think the staff should be back, lets see what we can do."  
  
Later that day, Chloe's father had shown up early and taken her home. "So, was staying with Lex as bad as you thought it would be?" Gabe asked when they got home.  
  
Chloe gave her father some of the suit cases and begun to walk to her room contemplating all the different ways to answer that simple question. Lex had asked her not to say anything about the robbery to anyone, he would deal with it. She had asked him not to say anything about the kiss, Pete hated him enough already, Chloe didn't want to add to it. So she settled with: "It was okay." And a swift change of subject. "How was New York?"  
  
Her father laughed. "You don't truly appreciate the country until you have been to NY. It's messy, dirty and the air is barely breathable compared to Smallville."  
  
"Good to know you had a good time!" Chloe laughed.  
  
They had reached her room and Chloe sighed. It was nothing compared to the one at Lex's. She was right, her room was more homey, it had all her Linkin Park, Good Charlotte and PJ Harvey posters as well as her journalism awards, but it didn't smell right. She sat on her bed after her dad left and frowned. She knew she would have trouble sleeping, her bed didn't smell like her, she had washed the sheets the day she'd left and it didn't help that the last bed she slept on smelt of Lex and his aftershave. She could practically see her crush on Clark drowning in a lake.  
  
Chloe sighed again when she realised that she had only 4 bags. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disaster Prone  
  
Lex lay on the bed Chloe had spent most of the week in, breathing in her scent. He smiled faintly, she smelt of strawberries and coffee. Lex sat up. He had to see her again, but where would she be? Coffee, you're an idiot Lex, of course she'll be at a coffee shop. But should he bring the suitcase she forgot? No, he'd make her come back hopefully for a sequel to what happened on his bed. Heading out of the house he told his servants to wipe his schedule for the rest of the day, and to put only the important calls through to his cell. He was going to stake out the Talon.  
  
When he arrived Lex realised there was no staking out to do; she was already there, sitting in the corner staring into her cup of coffee. He walked over to her and sat in front of the beautiful blonde. "Ms Sullivan."  
  
"Mr Luthor." Chloe looked up surprised and settled back to her original position. "We've lived together, been handcuffed together and slept in the same bed together. I thought we were past using each others last names."  
  
"Of course." Lex smirked. "What's got you down?" he asked. She hadn't looked up since he sat down.  
  
"What makes you think I'm down?" Other than the fact that I've missed being at your place, in your bed and in your arms. Shut up Chloe.  
  
"The fact you have been staring at your coffee since I walked in."  
  
Chloe looked still didn't look at him, her expression unreadable even to the kind of unreadable expressions. ".yeah."  
  
Lex reached over and put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face until she was looking at him. "Talk to me."  
  
"How's the robbery sitch since I left." Chloe asked, avoiding what was actually on her mind.  
  
"They caught Victoria. But she isn't exactly forth coming with the other two names." Lex replied, knowing she was avoiding his original question.  
  
"Do you have any ideas who they could be?"  
  
"No, but I will find out." He promised.  
  
"Good."  
  
Lex decided to fish around and see if he could come up with what was bothering her. Clark wasn't around because Lana wasn't working, so it couldn't be that. "Why aren't you at home, I thought you'd be glad to be back."  
  
"Home is overrated." Chloe muttered.  
  
"How so?" Lex inquired, pleased that he had found the source of the problem.  
  
"I don't know. I thought you'd be happy to get me out of yours." Chloe said steering the subject in his direction.  
  
Lex realised what the question meant. She was talking about the kiss. 'Tread carefully, Lex' he told himself. "It was my idea to have you there in the first place. And it was a pleasure having you."  
  
Chloe stared at him. "I like being there, despite what I said a few days ago. Oh, and did you see another suitcase in my bedr- the bedroom I stayed in? I looked everywhere at home but I couldn't find it."  
  
Lex shook his head. "No," he lied. "I haven't been in there."  
  
Chloe faked a laugh. "Of course not. Why would you have been." 'He doesn't miss me.' Chloe whimpered on the inside. 'Stop it Chloe, it was one kiss. One hell of a kiss, but one nonetheless.'  
  
"How about I drive you back to get it." Lex offered.  
  
"Oh I brought my car." Chloe said automatically. She kicked herself when she realised what she'd just done. 'You idiot!! You just turned down a ride with Lex Luther, the guy you've been hung up on since HE kissed YOU!!'  
  
"Well then I'll drive you back here when you've got it." Lex responded.  
  
'Yes!!' "Um, if its not too much trouble." Chloe said innocently.  
  
When they arrived in her old room Chloe saw the suitcase lying on the floor on the other side of the bed. She noted that the sheets hadn't been changed. Lex noticed that she'd noticed. "I guess the maid hasn't been in yet." He lied sitting on the bed. Lex had made a point of telling the servants to stay away from this room; he wanted it just the way she'd left it.  
  
"Oh." Chloe said bending over to grab her bag, forgetting that she was wearing a skirt and that Lex was behind her. Suddenly she felt arms around her waist pulling her toward the man now standing behind her. Chloe straightened and felt their bodies pressed together. "Lex?"  
  
"I've wanted you since last night. I lied when I said I couldn't get the cuffs undone." He whispered in her ear as he tightened his grip on her so she couldn't pull away.  
  
"Why?" Chloe asked.  
  
"Because I didn't want you to leave." Lex murmured trailing kisses down her neck.  
  
"I didn't want to leave." Chloe admitted softly, feeling the heat both of their bodies created.  
  
"What about now?" One of his hands lifted from her waist and slid it slowly under her shirt.  
  
Chloe shook her head lightly. "Still don't want to leave."  
  
"Good."  
  
They fell back on the bed with Lex on top lifting Chloe's shirt over her head. When he started on the skirt she paused and broke her mouth away from his and whispered, "Lex I'm a."  
  
Lex stared at her. "Do you want to."  
  
Chloe nodded and locked her lips to his again and Lex resumed unzipping her skirt. Suddenly a knock sounded on the door and a servant entered. "Mr Luth- oh, my. I'm sorry I-"  
  
Chloe tried to salvage what was left of her dignity by trying to redress herself. The intruder had the good grace to turn around as Chloe redressed herself. Lex stood up pissed off that the man had walked in on them. "Edward. What is it?" Chloe stood when she was dressed and semi-hid behind Lex.  
  
"Phone, sir." said the man extending the cordless phone with his left hand. A silver ring glinted in the light and Chloe gasped. He walked out of the room as soon as Lex took hold of the phone.  
  
Lex dealt briskly with the phone call and hung up less than a minute later.  
  
"Lex did you see.?" Chloe asked in shock.  
  
Lex nodded once. "Edward is another one." He sighed on the inside. He knew it was an inside job, so he was expecting it. But now the mood was broken with Chloe and he didn't know how to repair it or even if she wanted it repaired.  
  
Chloe stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Suddenly the door opened again and Edward walked in holding the gun. "I know you got Victoria, but you won't get me. I have worked too damn hard here and I got nothing for it! I needed payback!"  
  
Lex pushed Chloe behind him and stepped back, holding her hand while trying to negotiate. "I pay you well and you are treated excellently. I don't know what you mean."  
  
"Most of the time I spend here I am running after you. I wished someone would kill me!" Edward shouted.  
  
"Well if you close your eyes and wish real hard." Chloe muttered.  
  
Lex would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "That's what servants do Edward, they obey the wishes of their employers. If you didn't like it, you should have sought employment elsewhere."  
  
Chloe threw up her hands sick of the situations she manages to get herself into. "I am so god damn sick of what goes on here. Every time I've come here something has gone wrong, whether its my unceremonious leap out windows, Lionel's presence, being handcuffed and now I'm held and gun point AGAIN, for the SECOND time this week." She ranted.  
  
Edward looked confused and unsteady so Lex took this as his opportunity to wrestle for the gun. The servant had a strong grip and the two wrestled on the floor for quite some time until the gun went off. 


	7. The End

When Chloe awoke, the heavy scent of disinfectant assaulted her nostrils, that irked her was that it was so familiar. She was in a hospital. 'my home away from home.' she muttered. She then became aware of a ringing in her ears, her numb stomach and heavy weight on her hand. She flexed her fingers and the weight on her hand turned from pleasant heaviness to a death grip.  
  
"Chloe?" a ragged male voice filled her ears.  
  
"mmmmhhhm." She replied. On top of being in hospital, she was by no means a morning person, so she was not a happy girl.  
  
"Chloe, honey its dad." The voice continued. "Your friends are here, can you remember what happened?"  
  
'Lets see,' Chloe strained to remember. 'Lex, suitcase, kissing, that butler guy. the gun.  
  
* The gunshot echoed in the air followed by a quick intake of breath. Lex checked his body for wounds and was delighted with the fact there were none, the man was still struggling beneath him, so he wasn't wounded, that left. Chloe. Lex's head snapped up and looked to where Chloe was collapsed on the floor, a pool of blood growing around her.*  
  
"God I hate his house." Chloe mumbled.  
  
Quiet laughter sounded from the far corner of the room. Chloe opened her eyes and was blinded by the sunlight shining in her room. Once she adjusted to the light she saw Lex leaning against the doorframe. Clark, Lana and Pete were by her right side and her father on her left. "So you remember?" her father asked.  
  
"Yeah," Chloe tried to nod, but the pain level jumped the scale so she left the bodily movement for another time. "What happened after. that? Did they catch him?"  
  
Lex stepped forward, gaining everyone's attention. "Yes, Chloe, they did."  
  
*Lex jumped of Edward and ran over to the fallen girl, "Chloe!!" Edward jumped up and looked at what happened. "Oh my." He turned to run but Lex was faster, he grabbed the handcuffs that he had placed on Chloe's bedside table for memories, and pinned the man to the floor, cuffing Edward's hands to the bedpost. Lex ran over to Chloe again and whipped out his phone to place the emergency call.*  
  
"He has confessed to being part of the robbery and gave us the name of the third. I got back all of the things they had taken." Lex continued. "I'll give you the details when your feeling better."  
  
"Thanks Lex," Chloe mumbled as the pain killers started to kick in.  
  
Clark leant forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm glad you're okay."  
  
Chloe's father squeezed her hand again, "The doctors said you're going to be fine, you lost a lot of blood, and you had us all worried. The bullet missed your kidney by an inch."  
  
Chloe tried to make that sink in, she had almost died - again - but she couldn't think straight and closed her eyes and the sunlight began to make her head ache. "Oh." Was all she could muster. "how long have I been.asleep?" she opened her eyes again to gauge their responses.  
  
Off the tired expression on her fathers face and the combined looks of her friends, she'd gathered it had been quite some time, "Tell me." She demanded after no one offered a response. She had to have been knocked out for a while for the police - of THIS town - to have dealt with the robber - turned shooter - and to have discovered the identity and located the other one, AND to have retrieved all of the items that were stolen.  
  
"A little under a week." Lana offered.  
  
Clarks eyes grew clouded. "They weren't sure you were going to make it."  
  
Chloe tried to lighten the situation a little. "That's what they said last time!" she smiled. and failed miserably at trying to raise the mood.  
  
"I have to go. take a walk or something." Gabe said squeezing Chloe's hand and walking out of the room.  
  
"He doesn't do well with hospitals." Chloe whispered stating the obvious. Before anybody could comment, a nurse bustled into the room to administer more drugs to take away any pain and ordered everybody out, at Lex's raised eyebrow she quickly excused him, but kicked everyone else out.  
  
After she left, Lex walked forward and sat in the seat her father had just vacated a few moments ago. "I want a serious answer Chloe, how are you?" he asked taking her small hand in his.  
  
"Before or after the pain killers kick in?"  
  
"Serious."  
  
"I'm gonna be okay." Chloe said truthfully.  
  
"But."  
  
"But I'm a bit sore now." At Lex's sorrowful glance at her stomach where the bullet had entered, she shook her head. "I don't blame you."  
  
"They had to change the bandages so many times, you just kept bleeding. they didn't think that you were going to wake up." Lex told her without meeting her gaze, the worry evident in his voice.  
  
"I'm stronger than I look." Chloe stated.  
  
"I noticed."  
  
"So."  
  
"So."  
  
"Lex, what's wrong. other than the obvious. You have something on your mind. Tell me."  
  
"I was just thinking about what happened in the bedroom. before Edwards untimely appearance." Lex told her.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Any regrets?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Lex smiled and kissed her hand. "Your dad is going to kill me."  
  
"Not to mention Pete, Clark, Mr and Mrs Kent and probably Lana." Chloe listed.  
  
"Let's just call it the whole town."  
  
"They wont exactly be happy with me either, a relationship is a two way thing."  
  
Lex nodded. "True."  
  
"But Clark and Pete will never be happy unless they get to pick who I'm with, then I probably won't be as happy as I could be with you."  
  
"You think you could be happy with me?"  
  
"You only hear what you want to hear." Chloe said rolling her eyes, feeling drowsy from the drugs. "I said I could be. I've been -with- you for 5 seconds."  
  
"Let's hope it lasts a while then." Lex said watching her eyes close and holding her hand tightly. 


End file.
